Money makes the world go round, or at least that’s what the song says and we all have to manage our personal finances, which some are better at than others. It can be a real struggle to put aside a little money every month, what with a long list of expenses that have to be paid, and with that in mind, here are a few tips to help you accumulate savings every month.
- Review your savings account – You need to make your money work for you and finding a high-rate term deposit account is one way of making your savings work. Google is your best friend and can help you find a savings account with many benefits. Some high-rate deposit accounts yield more than 4.5%, which is a significant improvement on the average rate.
- Create lists – One list is for essential payments; home loan/rent, car payments, utilities, food and transport. Another list for non-essentials; this is where you can make some savings. By recording all transactions, you can see clearly where savings can be made. Avoid these 4 spending traps and you’ll save money.
- Collect loose change – All the coins that we accumulate definitely add up to a considerable amount; invest in a piggy bank, leave it by your front door and every time you arrive home, empty your pockets into the container and try to forget all about that money. At the end of the year, you should have a sizeable chunk of change; maybe enough to enjoy a foreign holiday!
- Consider investments – If you would like your savings to make more money than accruing interest in a savings account, why not consider some form of investment? Of course, there are risks with investing, but generally speaking, the smaller the return, the safer the investment.
- Review how you get around – What type of transportation do you use? There might be cheaper ways of getting from A to B; consider public transport if you live in an urban area, or you could invest in a mountain bike. You would recoup the investment in less than a year with the bus fares you would save, plus you would shed those few pounds around the midriff.
- Review your credit card use – Some people are paying more interest than they should when using plastic to pay for things. Take a close look at the last 6 months and see how much interest you have paid, this might come as a shock and the good news is, if you are clever with credit cards and always settle the account promptly, there is little or no interest.
- Set yourself a savings goal – Some people start saving, keen to amass as much as possible, yet as time passes, that motivation seems to fade away and in 6 months, you have made little progress. Promise yourself something you really want, but only if you reach your savings target.
Make sure that you are getting the best interest rates with your savings account by using Google to check out other banks. The chances are you will find a high-rate term deposit account that beats anything else.
